The Vancouver Consensus: antiretroviral medicines, medical evidence, and political will

In 1996, the global HIV community gathered in Vancouver, Canada, for the XI International AIDS Conference and shared the clear evidence that triple-combination antiretroviral treatment held the power to stem the tide of deaths from AIDS. The HIV treatment era had begun. As we gathered again in Vancouver in July, 2015, it was clear that a new transformative moment is upon us. The Vancouver Consensus statement,1 which emerged at the recently concluded 8th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2015), signals the scientific affirmation that, rather than limiting access to those who are immune compromised, immediate access to antiretroviral medicines holds the power to rapidly advance the fight to end AIDS.